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Tuesday, January 1, 2013

10 Most Popular Articles of the Year at BGBC Survivors Blog

It's always fun to watch which blog posts are popular, so I thought it would be interesting to recap the ten most popular blog posts since the inception of the blog late February of 2012. So, here ya go:

This was a huge surprise to me. I took a detour on this article after reading the Edwin Young story in the news. This type of church is foreign to probably most of my readers and this post on Pastor Edwin Young and Faith Tabernacle has received the most hits of any blog posts and continues to receive hits on a daily basis. Lois of spiritualabuse.org probably the most information on this group on the internet and she has told me that the people in these churches are searching for answers. You'll notice that many of the comments are anonymous. These people live in fear, yet they know something is wrong at their church and are looking for information. I praise God that He has used this disturbing and snarky post to reveal the truth and hope that people will not settle until they find the Truth.

I was volunteering at a Christian high school summer camp when the judge gave his decision on the defamation lawsuit brought on by my former pastor, Chuck O'Neal and Beaverton Grace Bible Church. I only had a short period of time to contact key people and write this blog post. Judge Fun ruled that all our statements were not defamatory. He concluded all of our statements were in a public forum and of public interest.I want to point out something interesting. During the last hearing, there was a lot of hoopla about the sexual offender comments I made. In this article, you can see a screen shot where the judge refers to the comments. You will notice there is NOTHING in this court document about Chuck or his son being abusers. This is a new development O'Neal has concocted since the court case and was never included in ANY court documents.

This is another surprise, but goes along with #1. The people connected with Faith Tabernacle in Kansas have been looking for answers. I've heard quite a few stories from some very brave souls who have reached out to me. Please pray for this group. Pastors are elevated to such a status that the congregation can see blatant sin before them, yet they choose to overlook it because they have been taught that God placed their pastors in that position. If they question their pastor, they are questioning God. This kind of teaching prevents them from finding a healthier place. It is a form of brainwashing and is spiritually abusive placing pastors in a god-like status.

I wrote a tribute to my daughter, Hannah (also a defendant in the lawsuit). This was written right before her graduation from college. It was very emotional for me to write because it dealt with how I mistreated her when she was in our home. Hannah abruptly left home because she could not emotionally or spiritually handle any more time at BGBC. This story was linked in many news stories and blogs. It is still very difficult to read because each time I read it, I am brought back to that heart-wrenching painful time.

It was good for readers to hear from Hannah. She expressed what she was going through so well. This post has been linked a lot in homeschool circles. I predict we will be reading more stories like Hannah's as a generation of homeschoolers involved in the homeschool movement are spreading their wings.

This was a popular post. People were initially shocked to hear that a pastor was suing his former church members, but my readers were equally shocked to read that he started a "survivor" blog, purchasing domain names approximately 8 months earlier. In this blog post, we read how Chuck O'Neal reveals that they (he and his church) are the true BGBC Survivors for having to contend with our "malicious slander" for four years. His wife, Tonya apparently has 5,000 business cards she hands out to people in town. They also have car advertising magnets directing people to this Impostor Site. Can you say "anti-evangelism"?

This was a popular post because I quoted two of Chuck O'Neal's Google reviews. Keep in mind the Google review interface is designed to review businesses. Chuck O'Neal used this forum to review me, yet Google allowed it to remain even though I complained about it. Somehow O'Neal was able to get my reviews removed.

This particular post was linked on news articles and blogs, so it received a lot of traffic. This is also the review in which Chuck O'Neal implicates John MacArthur's church, Grace Community Church in which he stated the following:

After seeking counsel from a pastor on staff with Grace Community Church (under Pastor John MacArthur) and reading him several excerpts from JulieAnne's endless defamation, he recommended that we FILE A LAWSUIT in an appeal to Caesar as the Apostle Paul did when falsely accused of crimes against God and the state.

This quote created quite a stir in the blogging community and eventually Phil Johnson, John MacArthur's right-hand man got involved, had an hour-long conversation with O'Neal in which Chuck apparently agreed that there was some misunderstanding and most likely no pastor encouraged him to sue us. Phil Johnson later released a statement that they would not encourage a pastor to sue and explained their biblical stance on churches/lawsuits.

Fred Butler, a long-time employee of Grace to You, graduate of Master's College, and bible teacher at Grace Community church is a blogger. He does not like survivor blogs and through a sequence of events, came to my blog to discuss survivor blogs and my case. His presence stirred up a lot of emotions in the comments. We later discovered that Fred Butler and Chuck O'Neal had conversed privately and this may have fed into Fred's remarks and why he defended Chuck so vehemently. Fred is a champion defender of his boss and mentor, John MacArthur, and goes to bat for him publicly on his blog. He also has plenty of words to say about people who go against John MacArthur publicly and seems to assume pastors are always right without considering that there really are spiritually abusive pastors. Another interesting note: even though Fred has a strong distaste for survivor blogs, he seems to give a pass to Chuck O'Neal's "survivor blog." Check out this tweet from Fred and notice the date of December 10. Obviously, Fred obtained information about O'Neal's new blog and tweeted about it even before BGBC members first started commenting on December 11, 2012. After what Fred trashed my daughter publicly and eventually apologized, you would think he would have washed his hands from dealing with Chuck, but noooooooooo, he still meddles. Shame on you, Fred. You will have to answer for your behavior.

9. Chuck O'Neal's Original Complaints Against Julie AnneThis is one of the earlier blog posts in which I copied off key portions of Chuck's complaints from the original court documents so my readers could see exactly what was being said. This post was linked in many news articles.10. Can Spiritual Abuse Destroy a Marriage? Paul's StoryOne of the biggest tragedies of spiritual abuse occurs when the abuse interferes with a marriage, leading to its destruction. This story is about Raymond Ernst and his experience with Pastor Kevin Dunn, of Eagle Heights Church in Hammond, Louisiana. It's hard to find anything good in this post, it is that heart-wrenching. But one thing that is good is that Raymond was willing to share his pain publicly. The Blogger stats show that people are doing internet searches for phrases like: can spiritual abuse destroy a marriage, spiritual abuse and divorce, etc. Raymond's story validates so many who are experiencing the same challenges. And for that reason alone, I am glad this is a popular post. If it helps just one couple to leave their abusive pastor and try to restore their marriage, Raymond's pain was not in vain. I never imagined this blog would have over 300,000 hits in just over 9 months. Thank you for your prayers and support this last year.Tomorrow we turn a page, move on to 2013, and move the blog in a new direction. Stay tuned!

"He also has plenty of words to say about people who go against John MacArthur publicly..."

I haven't read enough of Fred's writings to know one way or another on this. But, I would like to say, however, that John MacArthur is fine with public criticism of his public views (i.e. preaching, websites, blogs, etc.), and in fact even invites it. He has publicly said so:

Boy, that's a great question, Steve. I read the article and really respect Dr. MacArthur in how he does open himself up for criticism and accepts it.

Perhaps Fred, in his zeal and love for MacArthur, feels a need to protect him. If you go to Fred's blog, he discusses a very disgruntled person who even pickets GCC campus in protest to MacArthur's teachings. He may have a couple posts on this topic. I don't recall MacArthur suing, do you?

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My Story in a Nutshell

I began this blog in Feb. 2012 after noticing that the Google reviews I had posted of my former church were being removed. Days after the commencement of this blog, I received a legal summons suing me and three others for defamation to the tune of $500,000.
The story of spiritual abuse needs to be told. People are being hurt emotionally and spiritually by pastors who use bully tactics and we need a place to learn, to talk freely, and to heal. I will not be silenced.
****Update: 7/26/12 Case was dismissed. We won!
See my new blog: www.SpiritualSoundingBoard.com